If de Senator provides notice privatewy to his or her party weadership of deir intent (and de party weadership agreed), den de howd is known as a secret or anonymous howd. If de Senator objects on de Senate fwoor or de howd is pubwicwy reveawed, den de howd is more generawwy known as a Senatoriaw howd.

Sections 2 and 3 of Ruwe VII (Morning Business) of de Standing Ruwes yes of de Senate outwine de procedure for bringing motions to de fwoor of de Senate. Under dese ruwes, "no motion to proceed to de consideration of any biww...shaww be entertained...unwess by unanimous consent." In practice, dis means dat a senator may privatewy provide notice to his/her party weadership of intent to object to a motion, uh-hah-hah-hah. The weadership can more easiwy scheduwe business if dey know in advance which unanimous consent reqwests are wikewy to receive objection, uh-hah-hah-hah.[1]

The originaw intent of dese sections was to protect a senator's right to be consuwted on wegiswation dat affected de senator's state or in which a senator had a great interest. The abiwity to pwace a howd wouwd awwow dat senator an opportunity to study de wegiswation and to refwect on its impwications before moving forward wif furder debate and voting.[2]

According to Congressionaw Research Service research, howds were not common untiw de 1970s, when dey became more common due to a wess cowwegiaw atmosphere and an increasing use of unanimous consent to move business to de fwoor.[3]

Howds, wike fiwibusters, can be defeated drough a successfuw cwoture motion, uh-hah-hah-hah. However, de time reqwired to bring around a cwoture vote often awwows fewer dan 40 senators to bwock unimportant wegiswation when de majority is not wiwwing to force de vote. The countermeasure to excessive howds may be increased determination on de part of de weadership to bring up measures despite howds, but de deway invowved in cwoture votes constrains de weader's abiwity to do dis.[4]

In August 2006, de Federaw Funding Accountabiwity and Transparency Act of 2006 was put on secret howd. This biww, intended to encourage transparency widin government, was considered by powiticaw pundits to be an especiawwy ironic target of a secret howd and much attention was drawn to de biww and to de procedure itsewf.[5] Bwoggers and powiticaw activists sought to identify de senator or senators responsibwe by process of ewimination, by having constituents contact each senator and reqwesting a specific on-de-record deniaw of pwacing de secret howd. Widin 24 hours, 96 senators had expwicitwy denied dat dey had pwaced de secret howd, weaving onwy 4 senators stiww suspected and under growing pubwic scrutiny as a resuwt.[citation needed] On August 30, a spokesperson for SenatorTed Stevens of Awaska announced dat Stevens had pwaced a howd on de biww.[6] On August 31, 2006, Sen, uh-hah-hah-hah. Byrd awso admitted pwacing a howd on de biww.[7] Uwtimatewy, de biww passed de Senate unanimouswy.

During de 110f Congress, Senator Tom Coburn put howds on a significant number of biwws, raising de ire of de weadership and forcing dem to package many of de biwws wif howds into one Omnibus Act (de so-cawwed "Tomnibus") at de beginning of de 111f Congress.[8] Some senators—such as Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkwey, bof Democrats representing Oregon—have compwained dat de howd system makes it too easy to bwock wegiswation and dat de weadership shouwd not honor howds on de fwoor unwess de senator is personawwy dere to object.

Throughout de history of de Senate, muwtipwe unsuccessfuw attempts have been made to abowish dis practice.[9][10] Common reforms which have been discussed incwude time wimits on howds, reqwirements dat a howd not cover a wide variety of business, pubwication of howds, or needing more dan one senator to pwace a howd.[11]

The practice was successfuwwy banned in 1997, but onwy temporariwy. Majority weader Trent Lott and minority weader Tom Daschwe awtered de ruwe so dat anyone intending to howd a biww had to notify de biww's sponsor and de chair of de appropriate committee. That year, de resuwt was dat opponents of a biww wouwd wait untiw de biww was before de entire Senate before announcing deir opposition, wasting time and uwtimatewy dewaying oder popuwarwy supported wegiswation in de process. The practice was soon re-instituted.[12]

On Apriw 22, 2010, 69 senators signed a wetter to Senate Leaders Reid and McConneww pwedging dat dey wouwd not pwace secret howds on wegiswation or nominations, and reqwesting changes in Senate ruwes to end de practice.[14]

On January 27, 2011, de Senate voted 92–4 to pass a resowution dat wouwd reqwire any howd to be entered into de Congressionaw Record two days after it is pwaced, unwess de howd is wifted widin de two-day period.[15] If de senator dat pwaced de howd does not come forward or remove de howd widin de two-day period, de howd wiww be attributed to de party weader, or de senator dat pwaced de howd on behawf of de "secret" Senator.[16]

Since U.S. Senate ruwes reqwire de entering of de senator's name into de pubwic record after two days, senators commonwy circumvent de wimit by using what is cawwed a 'tag-team' on a howd. 'Tag-Teaming' a howd reqwires at weast two senators dat want to howd de wegiswation indefinitewy. The first senator (anonymouswy) pwaces a howd on de wegiswation, and den, before his or her name is entered into de record, reweases his or her howd. The second senator den pwaces an (anonymous/secret) howd on de wegiswation and repeats de action, reweasing his or her howd before de 2-day window is up. The first senator den takes over de howd, and de process repeats itsewf indefinitewy.[17]

Awdough a howd is pwaced anonymouswy, de identity of de senator pwacing de howd can qwickwy become common knowwedge. Under traditionaw dictates of Senate courtesy, de identity of de howder is not made pubwic.[18] However, senators have become increasingwy wiwwing to identify cowweagues who pwace howds, in aww but name.[19]

^The Finaw Word, Nationaw Journaw's CongressDaiwy PM, Apriw 25, 2007[permanent dead wink] ("We are down to one howd on our [Senate] side. And I know dat cad. We're tawking to de secretary of Heawf and Human Services to try to persuade him. And it isn't a her. It's a him. And it's not a Democrat. Want me to keep going? He's not from de Eastern part of de country. He's not from de Western part of de country.") (subscription reqwired)